Prevention
by je-m'adore
Summary: You can't have the good without the bad... (Rating up in later chapters) PLEASE READ! MY FIRST FIC!
1. Awake

Chloe had woken that morning to...  
  
Silence.  
  
Something wasn't right. It was Saturday and her father was supposed to be home this morning. There should have been the sound of music drifting through the house, pots and pans clanging together. The smell of burnt toast.  
  
At first her heart leapt, but then she relaxed. There was nothing to worry about.  
  
But the feeling in her gut would not go away. She was almost afraid to step out of bed.  
  
No. He wouldn't leave her. He wasn't like her mother had been and he knew Chloe needed him.  
  
She closed her eyes and forced her foot out from underneath the covers. Just as it was about to touch the carpet of her room the phone rang through the silence.  
  
'That'll be him,' she thought to comfort herself.  
  
"Hello?" Chloe answered the phone and noticed the nervous tone in her own voice.  
  
"Chloe?" Lex's voice responded. She closed her eyes. It was not the comfort that she had been hoping for.  
  
"My dad isn't here," she said in an annoyed tone. There was a pause in the conversation before he replied again.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Well then why are you calling here?" she almost demanded.  
  
"Okay Chloe. Relax. The reason I'm calling is because your dad's here-"  
  
"Okay and where would that be?"  
  
"Chloe let me finish," he told her in a harsh tone. He rubbed a hand over his bald scalp. She was going to blame this on him. He was already blaming it on himself. "Your dad's in the Smallville Medical Center."  
  
The tone he had taken in his last sentence affirmed all her worst thoughts. Chloe struggled to keep her grip on the phone as her breath became labored.  
  
"I'm coming," she managed to get out of her throat. She hung up and dropped the phone to the ground, not caring if it landed safely. She snatched her keys up and in record timing was on her way to the hospital.  
  
Only when she was walking into the Smallville Medical Center did she realize that she hadn't even put on some appropriate clothes and that she was barefoot, but that didn't stop her from continuing on. She did get some weird looks, though, especially when she went up to the front desk.  
  
Lex had stood there staring at the phone when she had hung up on him, but then again what was he supposed to expect? He snaked a hand around to the back of his neck and closed his eyes. What was he going to do?  
  
When he opened his eyes he found Chloe dressed in a short t-shirt and nothing else except for a pair of boy- short underwear that peeked out from underneath the hem of the shirt when she leaned over. He mentally smacked himself. Now was not the time to think of Chloe in that way, even if he had developed an... attraction?... towards her.  
  
It had started the very first day that he had met her. First her spunk and her wit. She was the only girl in Smallville High- much less of all the women he had ever met- that was not intimidated by him. Their encounters often consisted of their 'verbal judo' and Lex had secretly grown to looking forward to their sparring.  
  
Then there were the stories her father would always tell about her. About her near death encounters with meteor freaks to the day that her mother walked out on them. Lex always found these stories fascinating. At first he had told himself that it was just Gabe's wonderful way of putting words that made it interesting, but he had slowly realized he was beginning to have a sort of infatuation with Chloe.  
  
Third, there was the one time he was actually going to let her interview him. And that had gone...horribly wrong. But when he had seen her body twisted on the ground, he had not only felt guilt- he had felt true sympathy. Worry. And... something else. It had felt almost like he was losing his mother or Pamela all over again.  
  
Lastly, there was the Wall of Weird and the fact that she didn't blame the Luthors for the mutations. It was as if she trusted him, and honestly she barely knew him.  
  
But now there was very little hope that she would want anything to do with him after this. He knew that none of this would have happened if he hadn't called in Gabe that morning and she was for sure going to blame anything that happened to her father on Lex.  
  
He jerked his mind back to the Smallville Medical Center waiting room and walked over to Chloe. It was the first time he had seen her like this. She had a defeated and exasperated look on her face. He interrupted what the nurse was saying cautiously. He knew she could explode any minute.  
  
"Chloe," he touched her arm and she whipped around to face him, still supporting herself on the desk. He could see that tears were starting to form in her eyes.  
  
"Tell me what happened," she whispered to him, trying not to burst out in tears in front of Lex Luthor. 


	2. Talk

He shifted uncomfortably. "Why was my dad driving to work?"  
  
He looked to the ground. "I called him in," he said, not allowing his voice to waver. He looked back up and saw the tears streaming down her face. She jerked her arm away from his touch causing him to wince but all the while keeping eye contact.  
  
Why was this so hard for him? He had known this was how she was going to react. The feelings of guilt and pain came surging back.  
  
She stared at him, pushing him to continue. Half of her hoped that he would say everything was okay and she didn't need to worry and that she could go home. Or even that it was nothing too serious. The other half didn't want to know at all.  
  
He needed to finish. Her eyes kept urging him to in a painful way and were practically boring into his head. "On his way to the plant he got into a car accident..." Lex paused. She was the only person in the whole world that could truly unnerve him and make him feel unsure of what he was doing. "...with a semi- truck."  
  
Chloe went numb. Everything started to swirl around her and things were starting to fade away. She felt herself slipping away and succumbing to the anxiety.  
  
Then she felt a firm grip around her waist that jerked her back. Lex was holding onto her, keeping her from falling away to the ground. Even though he was the last person she wanted to see right now, she was thankful that he had been there to catch her.  
  
Their bodies were pressed up against each other as he held her there. He was surprised that she wasn't pushing him away and even more shocked when she rested her head against his chest. Lex seriously doubted she was aware of what she was doing, but he was cherishing every moment of it.  
  
His breath hitched as he realized his grip on her had hiked up the shirt so that her underwear was in clear view for everyone to see. He would have moved to pull the shirt back down but then that would break the contact. After a few minutes he realized there was no choice and he led her over to a chair, keeping her steady and supporting her with his arm still around her waist. Before they sat down he took off his coat and placed it on her.  
  
They sat there for a few moments in silence. She leaned against him, burrowing her face into his shoulder and crying. He didn't know what to do except stroke her hair. Lex knew for sure she wasn't aware of what she was doing.  
  
Chloe shocked herself with her actions, but she needed somebody and Lex was the only one there for her to turn to. He was also surprisingly comforting. While others such as Clark and Pete would have tried to comfort her, Lex only whispered her name in her ear and stroked her hair.  
  
"Shhhh...Chloe..." he whispered. He didn't promise her that everything would be okay. He didn't tell her not to worry. He couldn't because he didn't know that.  
  
Eventually she controlled her tears and rather reluctantly pulled away. He kept his hand in her hair as they stared intently at each other. They could argue right now. She could explode at him and blame everything on him. He could try to express all the emotions that were flooding him. She could try to find out more about what was going on. He could try to promise her anything that would help.  
  
"Can I see him?" she whispered, accidentally glancing down at his lips.  
  
Oh God. He wanted her so badly... but he pushed those thoughts aside to find that all he wanted to do was comfort her. He wanted her to trust him. He silently shook his head.  
  
"Not just yet," he replied. She sank back against him. "I'm so sorry Chloe," he whispered into her ear, "For everything."  
  
His breath on her ear made her shiver. She could be ranting and screaming at him that it was his fault, but she knew he already felt guilty for it. She knew that yelling would not help anything. Chloe realized that this could have happened any day and honestly, she couldn't blame him for it. She knew Lionel already blamed everything that went wrong on Lex.  
  
"It's okay," she replied, pulling back to look him in the eyes. He held his breath.  
  
Considering everything that had happened Lex was astonished that Chloe was not in hysterics. Then again, she had her own ways of coping.  
  
"It's not your fault," she whispered. He could have died right then and there. She smiled at the shock and relief that registered in his eyes. Her cheeks were still tear- streaked. He took in a deep breath as he wiped away some of them with his thumb. She leaned into his touch and sighed.  
  
"You know, you're taking this rather calmly," he whispered softly. She smiled.  
  
"And I haven't even had coffee yet," she laughed, but it only made more tears start to fall. His heart truly ached for her. He knew what it was like to have to worry about losing someone you loved. Lex pulled her against him again and she started to cry into his chest. He waited for her to calm down again, his hand twisted in her hair. Lex glanced around and looked at the other people in the waiting room who quickly averted their eyes when he glared at them.  
  
"Do you want to go to the cafeteria with me?" he asked and she nodded then frowned.  
  
"But what if the doctors come back with something?" she looked at him as she shakily stood. He helped her stay steady.  
  
"Wait a second," he went to the desk and told the nurse that if the doctors were looking for them they would be in the cafeteria. 


	3. Realization

Thanks to the people who reviewed!!! You guys will keep me going!! sorry i didn't say thank you in an earlier chap, but i couldn't figure out how to edit my already uploaded chapters.

Told you i'm technologically challenged.

I love you so much. THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS. Here's more...

They slowly walked in a surprisingly comfortable silence. It felt almost like it had with Helen, except Chloe wasn't a doctor and it felt better walking next to her. He felt like she needed him, possibly even wanted him, there.  
  
He seated her at a table and went to go get them some black coffee.  
  
Chloe watched his retreating figure and pulled his coat even tighter around her. Suddenly she realized how attractive Lex was- not only physically but emotionally. Nobody would have been able to comfort her like this, not even Clark. She took a deep breath to calm herself and accidentally inhaled his scent from his coat.  
  
'Oh my God...' She thought. He smelled wonderful. Like clothes fresh from the dryer mixed with his own musky, unbelievably comforting and sexy scent. She hadn't noticed it while she was crying into his shirt. She had been too busy sniffling and trying to prevent snot from getting on him.  
  
He came back and set a steaming hot coffee in front of her then pulled up his own seat. She stared intently at him then blushed.  
  
"What?" he asked. She motioned to his shirt. There were wet spots by his neck and on his chest. He laughed.  
  
"Sorry about that," she apologized.  
  
"It's okay, it's nothing," he replied. Chloe took a sip of her coffee cautiously. Her eyes were tired from all that crying. They sat there for a minute looking around.  
  
"I never would have thought I would say this while I was here, but thank you for being here too," she murmured and looked at her lap to see her bare legs. "And thank you for letting me wear your jacket." They both smiled. She looked up at him and took another deep breath.  
  
"You want to know what's going on," Lex said in more of a statement than a question. He reached over and squeezed her hand. He looked at their hands and then met her eyes, taking his own deep breath before starting. "I called your dad early this morning. I know he wasn't supposed to come in today but I needed him," he paused a moment. "Chloe, this never would have happened if I hadn't have called him in."  
  
She squeezed his hand as he looked down to the table.  
  
"I know," she calmly and sadly said, "But there's nothing that we can do about the past. Believe me, if there was I would be going back in time a lot." He looked back up at her.  
  
"I am astounded how calmly you are handling this," he replied. She gave a meek smile.  
  
"You saw how I reacted earlier. Being reasonable is the only thing that I have left besides going to The Torch office and doing the whole edition by myself. And I seriously doubt I am in any condition to drive," she said in a heartbreaking tone once again. "Honestly I feel dead. I feel... defeated." He unconsciously stroked her hand with his thumb.  
  
"I know how you feel," Lex said soothingly. He couldn't help but open up to her. "When my mother was dying I might have been younger but death loomed over my head constantly. After awhile I knew I couldn't do anything about it and I just... accepted it." Chloe winced at the word 'death.' She squeezed his hand again.  
  
Then she was amazed he was opening up to her like this.  
  
"Chloe, I will do anything I can to help you. Your dad still has a good chance." That left her speechless.  
  
"Lex... you don't have-" she started, but he cut her off.  
  
"No Chloe. I won't let you refuse my help. If you won't let me do it on a personal level I will on a business level," he ended it there. Chloe was too tired to even attempt to argue.  
  
"Lex, just so you know I mean it when I say I don't blame this on you," she looked down at their hands and gave a tired smile.  
  
She had no idea how relieving it was for her to say that again. It took away any doubts he had had before. He could seriously be falling for this girl.  
  
"It's funny..." she said, jerking him from his thoughts, "The things that can bring people together. At least something good came out of this."  
  
Inside he was promising her so much more.  
  
After a moment she quietly asked, "So what happened after you called him?"

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	4. Breakfast

"The next thing I knew the doctors called me to tell me he had been hit by a semi- truck with a drunk driver," he didn't know how she was going to react, "who had gone right through a red light."  
  
Anger flashed through Chloe's eyes. The truck driver was the one to blame for this. It was his entire fault. She was about to go find the man responsible when Lex stopped her from standing to leave.  
  
"The driver died instantly," She plopped back into the chair, not bothering to hide her contentment with that last sentence. He ignored it and understood that she was relishing the revenge. "You could say it was almost a miracle that you father even lived."  
  
"So is he going to be okay?" she asked hopefully.  
  
He gave her a weak smile that crushed the thought and he squeezed her hand. "He's still fighting." They sat there again for a moment. Chloe fought back the tears, determined not to break down in front of him again. Then she sighed, took a sip of her coffee and scrunched up her nose. "I know," he smiled, "it sucks."  
  
Her stomach growled. "Is there anything worth eating up there?" she asked. He shrugged. "Well do you want anything?"  
  
"No thanks," he grinned. "I've got my crap in a cup," he finished as he lifted his coffee in a mimic of a toast.  
  
Chloe shakily stood up and almost lost her balance but Lex jumped up and caught her again. She smiled at the feeling of his hand around her waist yet another time.  
  
"I've already come to rely on you too much. I can't walk without your help," she joked.  
  
"Want me to carry you?" he asked in an almost suggestive tone. Chloe's eyes grew wide but she kept cool.  
  
"Only you can lighten the mood when my father is in intensive care, Lex," she said. He looked into her eyes, staring at her as if to ask if she really could walk without his help. "I'll be okay Lex." He slowly and reluctantly loosened his grip on her. She took a couple of steps and looked back. "Really, Lex, I'm fine."  
  
He watched her slowly walk away, suddenly realizing how much of a turn- on it was that she looked as if she was wearing nothing underneath that coat- his coat- from behind. He diverted his eyes so that the rather erotic images of Chloe could not get into his head. There were more important things to be taken care of.  
  
He flipped open his phone and dialed a number.  
  
"Yes, hello, this is Lex. I want you to send a team of specialists to the Smallville Medical Center immediately," he cringed as he finished the words, realizing that he said that sentence too many times.  
  
Chloe turned and called to him and when Lex got up she noticed he was talking on the phone. When he finally got to her she raised her eyebrows. "You know, you're not supposed to have those in here." She gestured to the phone. He closed it.  
  
"I was finished anyway," he said, teasing her. "So what did you need?"  
  
"Well, I didn't have a chance to get my purse..." she hinted. Before she went any further he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bucks.  
  
"You owe me," he half- heartedly joked.  
  
"Hey, I'm letting you do everything you can to help," she replied, looking at him.  
  
"Well then you'll take my advice when I say that those eggs do not look too appetizing," stopping himself from saying what he really wanted in return. She gazed deep into his eyes, as if she had expected him to say that what he wanted was really her.  
  
"Ms. Sullivan?" a man's voice rang out from behind them. Her eyes broke away from his as she looked over his shoulder. He saw her face pale, causing him to whip around only to have his eyes land on a doctor. 


	5. Visits

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Lex reached behind him and held onto Chloe's waist. At first she tried to remove his arm but eventually gave up.  
  
"Yeah, that's me," she practically whispered.  
  
"Your father is in a stable condition," the doctor replied slowly. Lex felt Chloe's body sag as her knees went weak, "for now. Unfortunately his body has gone into a coma. It seems to be the only way he can maintain that stable condition."  
  
Chloe couldn't reply. Although her father was okay, it wasn't permanent. And if he did come out of the coma, would he die? Le x looked at Chloe and when he realized she was in a daze he spoke.  
  
"Did my team of specialists come in yet?"  
  
"Yes," the doctor said irritably, "They're running multiple tests on him right now-"  
  
"What if he comes out of the coma?" Chloe interrupted quietly. The doctor seemed startled at the question.  
  
"We... we don't know right now..."  
  
Lex was livid. This doctor wasn't helping Chloe at all. He turned to Chloe after shooting a look at the doctor as if to dismiss him. "My team will have some results for sure, Chloe." Chloe just nodded her head and whimpered as he tightened his grip on her. They gazed intently into each other's eyes as they had before the doctor had come in. "It will all be okay in the end," he whispered. The doctor turned and was walking out when Chloe called after him. He turned around.  
  
"Yes, Ms. Sullivan?" She tore her gaze away from Lex once again and looked over at the doctor. He loosened his grip and she moved out of his arms. Lex mourned at the loss.  
  
"Does that mean that we can't see him right now then?" she timidly asked as she slowly approached the doctor. Lex was rather surprised to see this side of Chloe, the brash, out- spoken reporter who was suddenly so unsure of herself. The doctor looked at her sympathetically.  
  
"No, I'm afraid you can't at the moment."  
  
"Have one of my specialists come to us when we finally can," Lex said from behind as he walked up to them carrying Chloe's tray of food. The doctor shot him a look and retreated out of the cafeteria.  
  
Lex slowly followed Chloe back to the table, setting the tray down as he sat. She stuck her hands into the coat pockets to come in harsh contact with his keys. She winced and pulled them out.  
  
"Us, Lex?" she asked, not certain of what else to say.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You said to have the specialist come to us," she stressed, still speaking rather unsurely. "You're going to stay here with me?" She fiddled with the keys.  
  
"I'm not about to leave you," he said. She started to cry. "Chloe?" Lex asked, thinking she was crying just from stress. He got up and walked around the table to her. She managed to stand up and wrapped her arms around him. He was startled but reciprocated the action after a minute.  
  
"Thank you so much.... for being here with me, Lex," she sobbed into his neck. He rubbed her back and kissed her forehead a couple of times. He tensed after realizing his actions, waiting to see if she would react to them. Luckily she didn't.  
  
"It's no problem, Chloe, I mean it. I'm not about to leave you," he reassured her.  
  
"Good," she said calming down. After a beat she continued, nuzzling into the crook of his neck even more. "Don't ever."

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	6. Dreams

**First of all my thanks to Seida-310, autumngold, campbti, and Shinna. You guys are awesome and thanks for reading and reviewing!!! I LOVE YOU FOR IT!!!**

**This next chap might be a little odd, but whatever. HERE YA GO!!!**

They sat in the quiet of the waiting room, practically alone except for the nurses and doctors who occasionally walked through. Apparently they had been the only ones to stay in the hospital all night, as the rest of the patients' cases weren't that serious.  
  
Chloe breathed in softly as she lay against Lex. They had gone back to the waiting area after Chloe decided she didn't feel like eating. They sat there for the whole day, neither of them moving except to go to the bathroom. They had talked, and Lex had a feeling he knew more about the important things about Chloe than Clark or Pete did put together. He found that he could relate to all of her feelings and fears- how she constantly felt like an outcast and the third wheel, how her heart had been crushed, how she was terrified to lose her father since it seemed like he was the only person she truly had left in her life.  
  
That had gotten to Lex. He not only wanted to be there for her so she could rely on him, but he didn't want her to end up like himself- sheltering herself from everyone. Keeping herself from establishing relationships with others in fear of losing them, thus preventing herself from experiencing more pain than required.  
  
He wanted to stop that from happening. She needed to know that with happiness comes pain. With love comes hurt. With life comes loss. If she could get through those things she would be okay. It was something everybody had to go through, but on different levels. If her dad did die, he wanted to be there to comfort her at the very least- possibly be there for her through everything.  
  
He stroked her hair as she stirred in her sleep. She had eventually given into the exhaustion and fallen asleep in his arms, lying against his chest. Lex's heart broke as he realized that in that position he felt the most content he ever had in his life, and he would be lucky if he could cherish that feeling ever again. He was sure that she would be burned into his body, an indentation of her forever in his soul. His heart beat faster as she moved against him again. This time her body pressed against a place that he really didn't need aroused at the moment. He pressed on her hips to still her and was startled at what she did next.  
  
"I love you," she whispered.  
  
The words were almost inaudible as they slid over her soft lips. His heart stopped and he could hear his blood pounding in his ears. He tried to calm himself- she was merely talking in her sleep. And she could be dreaming of anyone, most likely her father.  
  
Suddenly her eyes shot open. She pulled back and gazed at him. He stared back, his heart still pounding and his body still lying against the corner of the room they were in, sprawled out lazily. He was saddened by the loss of her body against his, cold suddenly rushing over him. He took in the sight of her, still wearing his jacket and nothing but the t- shirt. Her hair was slightly disheveled, giving her a morning after look. Her legs were on the other chairs that they had lined up into a kind of couch in the corner so that she could lay down, knees bent behind her slightly as she propped herself up into a sitting position. Since they had asked for the lights to be turned off the moonlight illuminated her features as it filtered through the dark waiting room windows.  
  
She was beautiful.  
  
"Chloe-" he started quietly, but was cut off when she leaned in and pressed her soft lips to his. He returned the kiss after a moment, but it was over in a second. She then settled back against him and he wrapped his arms around her. It had been so soft and gentle, so loving and innocent, yet somehow more passionate and meaningful than anything else that he had ever experienced- and that was a lot.  
  
What was happening?  
  
'You're falling in love, that's what,' a voice inside him said, and this time he didn't even bother to push the though out of his head.  
  
He realized his heart had slowed back to normal.

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